Analgesic Effect of Dexamethasone after Arthroscopic Knee Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Dexamethasone is sometimes used as a coanalgesic because of its anti-inflammatory properties. . To evaluate opioid use, postoperative pain intensity, and side effects after a single dose of dexamethasone in patients undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. . In this randomized controlled study patients were randomized to receive either 10 mg of intravenous dexamethasone (DM group) or 0.9% normal saline (NS group) during the intraoperative period. Primary outcomes were pain intensity and total morphine and codeine use after surgery. . Seventy-eight patients were included in the study. The DM group showed statistically significant higher pain intensity at the fourth postoperative hour (DM: 3.96/10, standard deviation [SD] 0.54; NS: 2.46/10, SD 0.45; = 0.036). No statistically significant difference in total opioid use (morphine plus codeine) was identified with 15.9 (SD 1.97) codeine tablets used in DM group and 20 (SD 2.14) in NS group ( = 0.25). . Pain intensity tended to decrease in both groups suggesting morphine as the main source of analgesia. . Intravenous dexamethasone during the intraoperative period has no clinical impact on postoperative pain intensity during the first 48 h after arthroscopic knee surgery. This trial is registered with R000020892.